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Art education with Nerissa Balland, MFA

The video above documents the 2022-2023 School year at Sha'arei Bina Torah Academy For Girls, grades 6-12 for visual arts classes!

Congratulations to Gita Klein (9th grader) for her acceptance of three art pieces in the upcoming teen art exhibition at NSU Art Museum! A Missing Generation is an exhibition of artwork in all media including performance-based and spoken word by Broward County teens curated by student members of NSU Art Museum’s Teen Art Council, which highlights the unique perspectives and experiences of teens across Broward County. Teens are invited to exhibit their artwork with their peers in NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale and engage with the greater community of Broward County.

Congratulations to the following students for receiving an award in the 2023 FAEA K-12 Student Art Assessment & Virtual Exhibition. There were 1,868 student entries across the State of Florida. All entries were scored anonymously by trained adjudicators using the specific rubrics. Mrs. Nerissa Balland, our art teacher selected nine students to enter artwork that was created during this academic school year in art class. ALL nine SBTAG students received an award based on their assessment scores. Congratulations to Mrs. Ballard and Our Students.

Gita Klein, Award of Merit

Shifra Suissa, Batya Gewirtz, Rena Yechieli, Noya Sedaghati, Alegre Elgozy, Alyssa Banayan, Sarah Waisman, Daniella Wachtel : Award of Emerging Artist

Below are the lessons and accolades with students in 2022-23 as an educator at Sha'aRei Bina Torah Academy For Girls, Hollywood FL. I have 105 students and 18 classes weekly, spanning grades 6-12.

Welcome to the Shaarei Bina student art show. Throughout the school year, you have been exploring the seven elements of art in various projects using professional-grade art materials, such as acrylic paint, graphite pencils, charcoal sticks, and mixed media application. In addition to working with new materials, you learned to practice new techniques and understand to discern between visual accuracy opposed to atheistic satisfaction. Middle and High school students have worked on life drawing, gesture drawing, reference drawing, painting, and mixed media using differentiated methods to coincide with each student's skill level. Our show will be up until May 12th.

Middle & High School: Visual Arts, Advanced Art, and Graphic Design Classes

ABOVE DESCRIPTION: Advanced Art and Graphic Arts students had the opportunity to visit MiArt Space Gallery in Wynwood. Students had the opportunity to tour the gallery and familiarize themselves with the 13 artists that were exhibiting for Miami Art Week. In addition, Mrs. Balland (one of the featured gallery artists) presented her artwork, alongside Ana Moreno (Gallery Owner) who discussed NFT's, the exhibition, and brief summarization of Art Basel and Miami Art Week.

ABOVE DESCRIPTION: During Chanukah high school art students are enjoying a relaxing break from their technical observational drawing from the past several weeks. Even at advanced levels with teens, I find it’s critical to continue to incorporate “play” and return to the “unlearned” approach with materials. As students get older and continue to want things to be “perfect” black light painting reminds us how art looks in one light and different in another and that we might like one result and dislike the end product in another. Perspective is relative, and lighting in general plays a critical part in observation. Middle Schoolers are learning about the effects of light, different types of paint materials, and learning to identify what it means to make an observation and how it applies creatively.
ABOVE DESCRIPTION: Middle Schoolers are learning about the effects of light, different types of paint materials, and learning to identify what it means to make an observation and how it applies creatively. My advanced art students are working on observational drawing - blindfolded! Learning by using their other senses to understand proportion, space, texture, and shape. See the video below for more!
ABOVE DESCRIPTION: My high school students are working on an EOA (elements of art) activity that helps me access their understanding of the seven techniques within the application. They are tasked with selecting an image that represents them and then breaking that image into seven segments; each segment represents how they would execute an element of art so that the end result showcases their technique for each of the seven elements.
8th Grade Self-Portrait Drawings (ABOVE DESCRIPTION): Two years ago (current 8th graders were in 6th grade), attending class online because many schools were still closed. This type of learning had a ripple effect in art class as the students were not grasping basic drawing techniques, and today many students have to catch up. My 8th graders were not thrilled with their realistic self-portrait project because it was difficult. Working on value (aka shading and blending) is no easy feat. I’m most proud of their reflection statements and pushing themselves through an uncomfortable journey and new technique territory!
9th Grade Mixed Media Portraits
9th Grade Mixed Media Portraits (ABOVE DESCRIPTION): If you have experience working with 9th grade girls then you know image means a lot! Especially when it comes to making art. The concept of good, bad, and perfection don’t exist in my studio. What matters is connections, understanding, and getting out of your comfort zone. Starting with one idea and ending up with something different. My 9th graders were tasked with a mixed-media portrait project. They used five different mediums to express themselves, which was definitely out of their comfort zone.
7th Grade Mexican Flower Study (ABOVE DESCRIPTION): 7th graders were working on “Flores De Mexico.” They are learning about Frida Kahlo, six different Mexican flowers, and learning about “value.” They were tasked with creating a floral composition with 3-5 Mexican flowers using shading, hatching, and/or stippling to create value.
Middle School Gesture Drawing 101(ABOVE DESCRIPTION): Sixth grader's first time working with willow charcoal on gesture drawing from small figurative models. Drawing from life in observation is completely different than copying a picture. We are playing with new material and learning at the same time!
Advanced Art Perceptions in Human Experience Portraits (ABOVE DESCRIPTION): Perceptions in Human Experience. Not your average portrait project! My Advanced Art students were working on the “perception of human experience project”. They have deconstructed human facial features from various sources and reconstructed those different features into a portrait. It’s through our expressions that we can see, and feel others' adversity, and these girls are defining that story through their fictional portraits digging deep into understanding triumph and tragedy.

workshops (Pre-K, Elementary, Undergraduate & Adult Learning) different objectives.

Nerissa Balland, Resident Art Teacher for Temple Kol Ami Religious School (gr k-6). Working on group projects for the first annual art auction to raise funds for the school. Each grade level created a group project that coincided with the annual curriculum.

In 2019, I was invited to work with 2 groups from UM Hillel on the art of co-elevation through the Womens Empowerment Series funded by GMJF. I developed and facilitated two 90 minute sessions with 60 undergraduates from the University of Miami discussing and identifying what it meant to be Jewish and translating that into a group visual arts project. This group project was centered around collaboration. Each person identified with being Jewish or living Jewishly. Together we collected our findings document them by inscribing them on in different ways on natural fabrics creating a decorative ribbon branch. The end result was one art piece from both workshops to be hung exhibited in the building.

ABOVE VIDEO: Professional Development Workshop for Early Childhood Educators at Suzy Fischer ECA

ABOVE VIDEO: Pre-K Purim Art Project 3 wks for 3 1.5 hour sessions per week.

ABOVE VIDEO: Local Jewish NonProfit hosts: Mindful Art Workshop

ABOVE VIDEO: Professional Development Sessions for Early Childhood Educators at Suzy Fischer ECA

ABOVE VIDEO: Women and Teen Workshop during Women's Month: Discussing Self-Love - What's Love Got To Do With It.

ABOVE VIDEO: Workshop at the MARJCC in North Miami Beach for the Sababba's Group.

Action Shot Photos

Action Shots from UM Hillel, FIU Hillel, Suzy Fisher, Private Lessons

VOLUNTEER PROJECTS ELEMENTARY

2022 Autism Awareness Month Door Competition

ABOVE DESCRIPTION: April is Autism Awareness month! This is not my classroom door! In fact, I volunteered to work with my first grader's class to create the door design for the contest at Fox Trail Elementary School. I wanted the kids to participate in making items for the door. They all traced and cut out their hands on glitter paper. These are the hands supporting the child looking up at the moon. In order to hide the battery packs from our twinkle lights I made little boxes and placed fun fact cards about Autism! I loved this quote “Acceptance is the greatest gift you can give to someone with Autism”.

Meet The Masters - Kindergarten Art Lesson

I was invited to lead both Kindergarten Meet The Masters for my child's class in October of 2022. Inspired by Halloween, I focused on mask making (without discussing Halloween. I taught the students about Kimmy Cantrell, sculptor and mask maker, we discussed the functions of different types of masks, along with different materials to make masks, and where we might see masks displayed. Then we made masks inspired by Kimmy Cantrell's artwork.

2nd Grade Meet The Masters: Pop Art Sock Project

ABOVE DESCRIPTION: I was invited to lead second grade Meet The Masters for my child's class in October of 2022. I focused on POP ART. I taught the students about the forefathers of POP ART MOVEMENT, we discussed the elements of art and focused on color, line, and shape when drafting out some ideas. Then we spent the majority of the period creating socks that they could keep and have. This was the first time second graders worked with PERMANENT MARKERS!!!

Credits:

photo & video credits by: Nerissa Balland